When I was in high school, managed to interact with students from diverse ethnicities. Also, all these students came from various families backgrounds. Our school was among the schools in Los Angeles that comprised of international students. Some of these are immigrants while others were refugees from the Middle East and Africa. However, the majority of the students were Caucasians. Many of the students with a white origin came from wealthy families. Being an international school, the school fees were a bit higher as compared to the surrounding institutions. Those parents who brought their children here believed in quality education and academic excellence. Also, there was a staff of high profiled teachers who came from diverse origins. There were both black and Caucasian teachers. I had joined this school at the middle level, and it took me time to be acquitted with the test of the student community. The initial days were a menace to me. I always spent the free time alone with hopes I would get a close friend.
Despite the acclimatization challenges, I managed to be integrated to be part of the student community. A school in a learning institution but I was surprised that there were social strata among students. Blacks grouped themselves during breaks and games and even at the school cafeteria. I realized that students related to each other by their skin color and class. After few days of loneliness, I managed to catch the attention of students, who I thought we shared similar problems. They had just come from new schools and thus, their first days were like mine. As we got along, I noted that people from my country were among the minority groups in the school. Some students who had not grown in diverse environments made jokes of the immigrants. They could not share desks and tables in the dining room. Those of us right in sport found it hard to fit in the school teams. This condition made even the inter-class groups to be formed by race and social identity. What annoyed me is that teachers of this school did nothing also when cases of racial discrimination were reported. The behaviors in school were equally witnessed in the nearby communities. All parents and adults had the same interaction experiences just like the learners.
With a full realization of the challenges, my friends and I proposed to form a peace club. We aimed to ring reconciliation between the Asians, Americans, Africans, as well as Indians in this school. We organized events such as peace days, charity walks, all with the aim of bringing students of a different race for a common goal. The club was registered and even assigned patrons who provided excellent guidance. Also, we divided the group leader to ensure equal representation. Also, we have environmental cleaning objectives which we extended to the community. Within one semester, the club had gained fame all over the school. More students registered and others provide support. Within the club, we also organized sports and leisure activities with teams that comprised of students from all backgrounds. We also partnered with other clubs in having inter-school competitions. Through these efforts, the students of this school developed a culture of diversity. We all respected each other based on our abilities without any reference to the social state or origin. The peace club won many awards and united students who felt the need to appreciate each other’s ‘differences. Asian and African students begin taking student leadership positions without any challenge.
